StemCell Therapy

Four years ago, a casual hallway conversation between Virginia Tech work buddies Brian Huddleston and Heather Parrish led them to embark on a life-transforming journey.

According to Huddleston, a support technician on the IT team at theVirginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, Heather and I were work friends. We didnt go to each others houses or know each others families. We talked when we saw each other, but that was about it. I think I once bought her a bag of chips from the vending machine.

In exchange, Parrish, formerly an administrative assistant at the veterinary college who now works at theInstitute for Policy and Governancein theCollege of Architecture and Urban Studies, gave Huddleston one of her kidneys hardly an even trade by any stretch of the imagination.

I remember Brian once mentioning that he had a genetic kidney disorder, said Parrish, who was concerned about her colleague at the time. Huddleston, however, assured her that the disease seemed to be under control.

Doctors had first noticed a problem with Huddlestons kidney function when he was a teenager, but for years, he was able to lead a normal life. The situation took a more serious turn four years ago when a routine checkup revealed worrying changes in Huddlestons kidney function. He altered his diet; and once again, the disease was brought to heel.

I was able to manage things for a long time by being careful, Huddleston said. Despite his best efforts, a bout of Henoch-Schonlein purpura, or HSP, a relatively common illness that typically affects children, sidelined him in early 2019. In most people, HSP resolves on its own after a few weeks, but because of Huddlestons already-compromised kidney function, the disease sent his body into a tailspin.

Kidneys filter out waste and release compounds that regulate the bodys bone health, blood pressure, and creation of red blood cells essential functions. Huddlestons kidneys had lost these crucial filtering abilities.

At that point, my kidneys were just useless bags of fluid, Huddleston said with characteristic wry humor. I was admitted to the hospital, and I started hemodialysis. Even after I was discharged, I had to spend three days a week hooked up to a machine just to stay alive.

The average life expectancy of a person on dialysis is about 10 years. Without a new kidney, the 41-year-old husband might not outlive his eight beloved rescue dogs and cats.

During his illness, Huddleston continued sharing updates on his Facebook page. By then, Parrish had left her job at the veterinary college, but she still stayed in touch with former colleagues through social media.

I saw people posting things on Brians page like Let me know if theres anything I can do to help, and I thought, There is something I can do. If Huddleston were going to survive, he didnt need cheery get-well cards or flowers: He needed a new kidney.

Through online research, Parrish discovered that, typically, more than 110,000 men, women, and children are on the national transplant waiting list and that more than 80 percent of those people are waiting for a new kidney. It was a long line, much too long for her liking.

Parrish reached out to the transplantation team at the University of Virginia (UVA) and began the arduous process of match testing. The early signs were good. Parrish and Huddleston shared a blood type and had compatible antibodies. Further testing revealed that Parrishs kidneys were in tip-top shape.

It was comforting to Parrish to know that even if she and Huddleston werent a match, her donation could start a donor chain allowing her kidney to be matched with someone else while another kidney could then be made available for Huddleston.

Working with Virginia Techs Human Resources, Parrish arranged for paid leave under the Bone Marrow/Organ Donor policy that provides time off to eligible employees donating bone marrow or an organ; in any calendar year, the policy also includes recuperation for up to 30 days. This additional leave, along with solid support from her boss, her co-workers, and her family, eased the way for surgery to be scheduled in March 2020.

Donors and their families do not pay for medical expenses associated with organ and tissue donation. And while much of Huddlestons care was covered by insurance, expenses such as ongoing visits to UVA and a hotel stay for his wife when he was hospitalized in Charlottesville were not.

The staff association at the veterinary college stepped in to help. This is just what we do, said Tami Quesenberry, a licensed veterinary technician who co-chaired a massive fundraising effort, including a goods and services auction that raised nearly $10,000 for Huddleston. The situation brought members of this great big veterinary family together like never before, she said.

Continue reading here:
All That and A Bag of Chips: VA Tech Employee Donates Kidney to Save Co-worker's Life - The Roanoke Star

This entry was posted on September 3, 2020 at 5:52 pm and is filed under Veterinary Medicine. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed. |